Back-side illuminated image sensor

ABSTRACT

Image sensors and methods of manufacturing image sensors are provided herein. In an embodiment, a method of manufacturing an image sensor includes forming a structure having a front side and a back side. The structure includes a semiconductor layer extending between the front side and the back side of the structure, and a capacitive insulation wall extending through the semiconductor layer between the front side and the back side of the structure. The capacitive insulation wall includes first and second insulating walls separated by a region of a conductive or semiconductor material. The method further includes selectively etching, from the back side of the structure, portions of the semiconductor layer and the region of conductive or semiconductor material, while retaining adjacent portions of the first and second insulating walls.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure concerns a back-side illuminated image sensor and a method of manufacturing such a sensor.

Description of the Related Art

A back-side illuminated image sensor conventionally comprises a semiconductor layer having a surface, called front surface, coated with a stack of insulating and conductive layers forming an interconnection structure, and having its surface opposite to the front surface, called back side, intended to receive an illumination originating from a scene, an image of which is desired to be acquired. The sensor comprises a plurality of pixels, for example, arranged in an array, formed inside and on top of the semiconductor layer. Each pixel particularly comprises a photodetection area formed in the semiconductor layer, and one or a plurality of control transistors formed inside and on top of the semiconductor layer, on the front side of the semiconductor layer. The pixels are interconnected via the interconnection structure.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In an embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method of manufacturing an image sensor that includes:

forming a structure having a front side and a back side, the structure including a semiconductor layer extending between the front side and the back side of the structure and a capacitive insulation wall extending through the semiconductor layer between the front side and the back side of the structure, the capacitive insulation wall including first and second insulating walls separated by a region of a conductive or semiconductor material; and

selectively etching, from the back side of said structure, portions of the semiconductor layer and the region of conductive or semiconductor material, while retaining adjacent portions of the first and second insulating walls.

According to an embodiment, the method further includes depositing a passivation layer on the back side of the structure subsequent to the selectively etching.

According to an embodiment, the method includes performing an oxidation at the back side of the structure subsequent to the selectively etching.

According to an embodiment, the passivation layer is deposited by atomic layer deposition.

According to an embodiment, the passivation layer is made of a dielectric material having a dielectric constant greater than that of silicon oxide.

According to an embodiment, the semiconductor layer is made of single-crystal silicon, the region made of a conductive or semiconductor material is made of polysilicon, and the first and second insulating walls are made of silicon oxide.

According to an embodiment, the capacitive insulation wall includes a third insulating wall separating the region made of conductive or semiconductor material into two distinct walls.

According to an embodiment, the method further includes forming an interconnection layer on the front side of the structure.

According to an embodiment, forming the structure includes:

providing a substrate including the semiconductor layer, a surface of the semiconductor layer forming a front side of the substrate;

forming the capacitive insulation wall in the semiconductor layer from the front side of the substrate; and

forming the back side of the structure by thinning a back side of the substrate to expose respective back sides of the semiconductor layer and of the capacitive insulation wall.

In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides an image sensor including a semiconductor layer having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface. A first insulation layer extends from the first surface of the semiconductor layer through the second surface of the semiconductor layer. A second insulation layer is spaced laterally apart from the first insulation layer, and the second insulation layer extends from the first surface of the semiconductor layer through the second surface of the semiconductor layer. A region of conductive or semiconductor material is between the first insulation layer and the second insulation layer.

According to an embodiment, the region of conductive or semiconductor material has a first surface that is substantially coplanar with the first surface of the semiconductor layer and a second surface that is substantially coplanar with the second surface of the semiconductor layer.

According to an embodiment, the image sensor further includes a passivation layer on the second surface of the semiconductor layer, the first and second insulation layers, and the region of conductive or semiconductor material.

The foregoing and other features and advantages will be discussed in detail in the following non-limiting description of specific embodiments in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a cross-section view schematically and partially showing an example of back-side illuminated image sensor;

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are partial simplified cross section views illustrating an example of a method of manufacturing a back-side illuminated image sensor according to an embodiment;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are partial simplified cross-section views illustrating an alternative embodiment of the method of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C; and

FIG. 4 is a partial simplified cross-section view illustrating another example of a back-side illuminated image sensor according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The same elements have been designated with the same reference numerals in the various drawings and, further, the various drawings are not to scale. For clarity, only those steps and elements which are useful to the understanding of the described embodiments have been shown and are detailed. In particular, the forming of the photodetection areas and of the transistors for controlling the pixels of the described sensors has not been detailed, the described embodiments being compatible with usual structures of pixels of back-side illuminated sensors. In the following description, when reference is made to terms qualifying absolute positions, such as “top”, “bottom”, “left”, “right”, etc., or relative positions, such as terms “above”, “under”, “upper”, “lower”, etc., or to terms qualifying directions, such as terms “horizontal”, “vertical”, etc., it is referred to the orientation of the drawings, it being understood that, in practice, the described devices may be oriented differently. The terms “approximately”, “substantially”, and “in the order of” are used herein to designate a tolerance of plus or minus 10%, preferably of plus or minus 5%, of the value in question.

FIG. 1 is a partial simplified cross-section view of an example of a back-side illuminated image sensor. The sensor of FIG. 1 comprises a semiconductor layer 101, for example, made of single-crystal silicon. The sensor of FIG. 1 further comprises an interconnection structure 103 coating the upper surface or front side of semiconductor layer 101. The sensor of FIG. 1 comprises a plurality of pixels Px formed inside and on top of semiconductor layer 101. Each pixel Px comprises at least one photosensitive area (not detailed) formed in semiconductor layer 101, and one or a plurality of control transistors (not detailed) formed inside and on top of conductive layer 101. Pixels 101 are interconnected by conductive tracks (not detailed) formed in interconnection structure 103. In operation, the sensor is illuminated on its lower surface or back side, that is, on its side opposite to interconnection structure 103, as illustrated by arrows 104 of FIG. 1.

Sensors of the type illustrated in FIG. 1, comprising capacitive insulation walls 105 vertically extending through semiconductor layer 101, from the front side and to the back side of layer 101, are here more particularly considered. As an example, in each pixel, the photosensitive area of the pixel is totally surrounded, in top view, by a ring-shaped capacitive insulation wall 105. Each capacitive insulation wall 105 comprises two vertical insulating walls 105 a and 105 b, separated by a vertical conductive or semiconductor region 105 c, for example, made of polysilicon. Regions 105 a, 105 b, and 105 c for example each extend across the entire thickness of semiconductor layer 101, from the front side to the back side of layer 101. Each of insulating walls 105 a and 105 b has an outer lateral surface in contact with semiconductor layer 101 and an inner lateral surface in contact with region 105 c. As an example, insulating walls 105 a and 105 b are made of silicon oxide. In the shown example, each capacitive insulation wall 105 further comprises a central insulating wall 105 d, for example, made of silicon oxide, extending along the entire height of the insulation wall and separating conductive or semiconductor region 105 c in two separate walls 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂.

As an example, the thickness of semiconductor layer 101, and thus the height of walls 105, is in the range from 1 to 20 μm, for example, from 2 to 10 μm. Conductive or semiconductor regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂ for example each have a width in the range from 10 to 100 nm, for example, in the order of 50 nm. Central insulating region 105 d for example has a width in the range from 10 to 100 nm, for example, in the order of 50 nm. Outer insulating regions 105 a and 105 b for example each have a width in the range from 5 to 40 nm, for example, in the order of 15 nm.

In each capacitive insulation wall 105, conductive or semiconductor wall 105 c ₁ and/or 105 c ₂ of the insulation wall may be electrically connected, by its front side, to a terminal of application of a bias potential formed in interconnection structure 103, which enables to bias the capacitance formed between semiconductor layer 101 and wall 105 c ₁ and/or the capacitance formed between semiconductor layer 101 and wall 105 c ₂ during the sensor operation.

On the back side of the sensor, a passivation layer 107 made of a dielectric material, continuously extending over substantially the entire back side of the sensor, that is, on the back side of semiconductor layer 101 and on the back side of capacitive insulation walls 105, is provided. Layer 107 is for example made of a material different from the material of insulating walls 105 a and 105 b. As an example, layer 107 is made of a material having a strong dielectric constant, that is, having a dielectric constant greater than that of silicon oxide, for example, hafnium oxide (HfO₂) or aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃).

In the example of FIG. 1, the sensor further comprises an antireflection layer 109, for example, made of tantalum oxide (Ta₂O₅), coating the back side of passivation layer 107.

According to the needs of the application, other layers, not shown, may be provided on the back side of the sensor, for example, a silicon oxide protection layer, a filtering layer made of colored resin, a layer of microlenses, etc.

To form the sensor of FIG. 1, it may be started form a relatively thick initial substrate, for example, made of silicon, having its upper portion formed by semiconductor layer 101 of the sensor.

Pixels Px, capacitive insulation walls 105, and interconnection structure 103 are then formed inside and on top of semiconductor layer 101, from the front side of the substrate.

A support handle is then affixed onto the upper surface of interconnection structure 103, after which the substrate is thinned from its lower surface or back side, for example by grinding and/or by chemical thinning, possibly followed by a step of chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), until the back side of semiconductor layer 101 and of capacitive insulation walls 105 is reached.

Passivation layer 107, as well as the possible additional back side layers of the sensor (antireflection layer 109 in the example of FIG. 1) are then deposited on the back side of semiconductor layer 101 and of capacitive insulation walls 105.

The support handle attached to the front side of interconnection structure 103 may then be removed. As a variation, the support handle may be kept as a mechanical support until the end of the method (and possibly in the final product).

In practice, it can be observed that the capacitance formed between conductive or semiconductor wall 105 c ₁ and semiconductor layer 101 (separated by insulating wall 105 a), and the capacitance formed between conductive or semiconductor wall 105 c ₂ and semiconductor layer 101 (separated by insulating wall 105 b) have relatively low breakdown voltages. As an example, when the thickness of insulating walls 105 a and 105 b is selected to obtain a theoretical breakdown voltage of 20 V between region 105 c ₁ and region 101 and between region 105 c ₂ and region 101, it can be observed, in practice, that the real breakdown voltage of the capacitances is approximately 10 V. Beyond this voltage, breakdowns are capable of occurring in walls 105 a and 105 b, in the vicinity of the lower surface of walls 105 a and 105 b.

A possible explanation of such a low breakdown voltage would be linked to the presence of defects at the interface between the lower surface of insulating walls 105 a, 105 b, and passivation layer 107, particularly resulting from the substrate thinning step preceding the deposition of layer 107.

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are partial simplified cross section views illustrating successive steps of an example of a method of manufacturing a back-side illuminated image sensor according to an embodiment.

The sensor of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C has common elements with the sensor of FIG. 1. These elements will not be described again. Hereafter, only the differences with the sensor of FIG. 1 will be highlighted. It should be noted that the cross-section views of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C show an enlargement of a portion of the sensor, centered on a vertical capacitive insulation wall 105 of the sensor.

FIG. 2A illustrates an initial step of forming a structure comprising semiconductor layer 101 and capacitive insulation walls 105 extending vertically from the front side (lower surface in the orientation of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C) to the back side (upper surface in the orientation of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C) of semiconductor layer 101. To form this structure, one may, as in the previously-described example, start from a relatively thick initial substrate, for example, made of silicon, having its front portion formed by semiconductor layer 101. Pixels Px, capacitive insulation walls 105, and interconnection structure 103 are then formed inside and on top of semiconductor layer 101, from the front side of the substrate. A support handle (not shown) is then affixed to the front side of interconnection structure 103 (that is, the surface of interconnection structure 103 opposite to the substrate), after which the substrate is thinned from its back side, for example, by grinding, until the back side of semiconductor layer 101 and of capacitive insulation walls 105 is reached. The substrate thinning step may particularly comprise a step of chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) which may obtain, after thinning, a substantially planar back side. In other words, at the end of this step, capacitive insulation walls 105 of the sensor are flush with the level of the back side of semiconductor 101 to form a substantially planar back side.

FIG. 2B illustrates a step of partial removal or recess of semiconductor layer 101 and of conductive or semiconductor regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂, from the back side of the structure obtained at end of the steps of FIG. 2A. During this step, insulating regions 105 a, 105 b, and 105 d of capacitive insulation walls 105 are kept. As an example, a partial etching of semiconductor layer 101 and of conductive or semiconductor regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂, selective over insulating regions 105 a, 105 b, and 105 d, is performed from the back side of the structure obtained at the end of the steps of FIG. 2A. Selective etching means that the etch speed of the material(s) forming layer 101 and regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂ (for example, silicon) is greater, for example ten times greater, and preferably at least one hundred times greater, than the etch speed of the material(s) forming regions 105 a, 105 b and 105 d (for example, silicon oxide). As an example, the etching implemented at the step of FIG. 2B is a plasma etching or a dry etching. As a variation, a wet etching may be used. The thickness of layer 101 and of regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂ removed at the step of FIG. 2B is for example in the range from 5 to 200 nm, and preferably from 10 to 50 nm. As an example, the etching implemented at the step of FIG. 2B is a non-local etching, that is, semiconductor layer 101 and regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂ are thinned across substantially the entire surface of the sensor.

Thus, at the end of the step of FIG. 2B, on the back side of the structure, conductive or semiconductor regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂ of capacitive insulation walls 105 substantially stop at the same level as the back side of semiconductor layer 101. However insulating regions 105 a, 105 b, and 105 d of walls 105 protrude from the back side of semiconductor layer 101.

At the end of the step of selective partial etching of layer 101 and of regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂, a step of chemical cleaning of the back side of the sensor may be provided. During this step, a thin oxide layer (not shown), of native oxide or of chemical oxide, having a thickness in the order of 1 nm or less, may form on the back side of semiconductor layer 101 and on the back side of conductive and semiconductor regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂.

FIG. 2C illustrates a step of deposition of passivation layer 107 of the sensor, on top of and in contact with the back side of the structure obtained at the end of the steps of FIGS. 2A and 2B. Layer 107 is for example deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD). More generally, any other method of conformal deposition may be used, so that layer 107 follows the shape of the relief formed by the portions protruding from insulating walls 105 a, 105 b, and 105 d of walls 105. Passivation layer 107 is for example continuously deposited all over the back side of the sensor.

FIG. 2C further illustrates a step of deposition of antireflection layer 109 on top of and in contact with the back side of passivation layer 107. As an example, layer 109 is deposited by atomic layer deposition (ALD). More generally, any other method of conformal deposition may be used. Antireflection layer 109 is for example continuously deposited all over the back side of the sensor.

As previously indicated, according to the needs of the application, other layers, not shown, may be provided on the back side of the sensor, for example, a silicon oxide protection layer, a filtering layer made of colored resin, a layer of microlenses, etc.

An advantage of the manufacturing method described in relation with FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C and of the sensor obtained by this method is a significant improvement of the voltage behavior of capacitive insulation walls 105. Such an improvement can particularly be explained by the increase of the electric path between semiconductor layer 101 and conductive or semiconductor region 105 c ₁ or 105 c ₂, via the interface between insulating walls 105A or 105B and passivation layer 107.

As an example, for identical dimensions, and particularly for a same thickness of insulating walls 105 a and 105 b of walls 105, an improvement by a factor two of the breakdown voltage of the capacitances formed between region 105 c ₁ and layer 101 on the one hand, and between region 105 c ₂ and layer 101 on the other hand, can be observed.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are partial simplified cross-section views illustrating an alternative embodiment of the method of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C. FIGS. 3A and 3B more particularly show an enlargement of a portion of the sensor, in the vicinity of the back side of the sensor, at the level of an insulating wall 105 a of a vertical capacitive insulation wall 105 of the sensor.

FIG. 3A shows the back side of the sensor at the end of the step of partial selective etching of layer 101 and of regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂, described in relation with FIG. 2B. As appears in FIG. 3A, it can be observed that, in practice, the etching of layer 101 and of regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂ is not perfectly uniform. More particularly, according to the type of method used for perform the etching, there may remain residues of the material of layer 101 and of regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂ in the immediate vicinity of insulating walls 105 a, 105 b, and 105 d, for example, due to a shadowing, selectivity, etc. effect. This results in the forming, in layer 101 and/or in regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂, of point-shaped or bird's beak structures 301, bearing on insulating walls 105 a, 105 b, and 105 c.

FIG. 3B illustrates a step of oxidation of the back side of the structure obtained at the end of the steps of FIGS. 2A and 2B, to form a relatively thick oxide layer 303, for example, in the range from 1 to 10 nm, for example, in the order of 5 nm, on the back side of semiconductor layer 101 and on the back side of regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂ of capacitive insulation walls 105. As illustrated in FIG. 3B, this oxidation step results in significantly rounding, or even in suppressing, the points of bird's beak structures 301 at the interface with insulating walls 105 a, 105 b, and 105 d. As an example, the oxidation step is carried out by submitting the back side of the sensor to an oxygen plasma, preferably at a temperature smaller than 400° C. to avoid damaging interconnection structure 103 of the sensor. As a variation, a chemical oxidation may be provided.

The rest of the method is for example identical or similar to what has been previously described in relation with FIG. 2C.

An advantage of the alternative embodiment of FIGS. 3A and 3B is that it enables to further improve the voltage behavior of the capacitive insulation walls of the sensor.

FIG. 4 is a partial simplified cross-section view illustrating another example of a back-side illuminated image sensor according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a view in the same cross-section plane as FIG. 2C. The sensor of FIG. 4 has elements common with the sensor of FIG. 2C, and is formed by a manufacturing method similar to the method described in relation with FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C and, possibly, 3A and 3B. Hereafter, only the differences with respect to the sensor of FIG. 2C will be detailed.

The sensor of FIG. 4 differs from the sensor of FIG. 2C mainly in that, in the example of FIG. 4, capacitive insulation walls 105 comprise no central insulating wall 105 d. Thus, in the example of FIG. 4, regions 105 c ₁ and 105 c ₂ are combined in a single central conductive or semiconductor region 105 c. In other words, each capacitive insulation wall 105 comprises two insulating walls 105 a and 105 b having their outer lateral surfaces in contact with semiconductor layer 101, and a conductive or semiconductor region 105 c forming a single central wall having its lateral surfaces respectively in contact with the inner lateral surface of insulating wall 105 a and with the inner lateral surface of insulating wall 105 b.

Specific embodiments have been described. Various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art. In particular, the above-described embodiments are not limited to the examples of numerical dimensions or to the examples of materials mentioned in the present disclosure.

Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only and is not intended to be limiting.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure. 

1. A method of manufacturing an image sensor, comprising: forming a structure having a front side and a back side, the structure including a semiconductor layer extending between the front side and the back side of the structure and a capacitive insulation wall extending through the semiconductor layer between the front side and the back side of the structure, the capacitive insulation wall including first and second insulating walls separated by a region of a conductive or semiconductor material; and selectively etching, from the back side of said structure, portions of the semiconductor layer and the region of conductive or semiconductor material, while retaining adjacent portions of the first and second insulating walls.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: depositing a passivation layer on the back side of the structure subsequent to the selectively etching.
 3. The method of claim 2, comprising: performing an oxidation at the back side of the structure subsequent to the selectively etching and prior to the depositing the passivation layer.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein the depositing the passivation layer includes depositing the passivation layer by atomic layer deposition.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the passivation layer comprises a dielectric material having a dielectric constant greater than that of silicon oxide.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor layer is a layer of single-crystal silicon, the region of conductive or semiconductor material is a region of polysilicon, and the first and second insulating walls are silicon oxide insulating walls.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the capacitive insulation wall includes a third insulating wall extending through the region of conductive or semiconductor material, the region of conductive or semiconductor material including first and second walls of the conductive or semiconductor material on opposite sides of the third insulating wall.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: forming an interconnection layer on the front side of the structure.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein forming the structure includes: providing a substrate including the semiconductor layer, a surface of the semiconductor layer forming a front side of the substrate; forming the capacitive insulation wall in the semiconductor layer from the front side of the substrate; and forming the back side of the structure by thinning a back side of the substrate to expose respective back sides of the semiconductor layer and the capacitive insulation wall.
 10. An image sensor, comprising: a semiconductor layer having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface; a first insulation layer extending from the first surface of the semiconductor layer through the second surface of the semiconductor layer; a second insulation layer spaced laterally apart from the first insulation layer, the second insulation layer extending from the first surface of the semiconductor layer through the second surface of the semiconductor layer; and a region of conductive or semiconductor material between the first insulation layer and the second insulation layer.
 11. The image sensor of claim 10, wherein the region of conductive or semiconductor material has a first surface that is substantially coplanar with the first surface of the semiconductor layer and a second surface that is substantially coplanar with the second surface of the semiconductor layer.
 12. The image sensor of claim 10, further comprising: a passivation layer on the second surface of the semiconductor layer, the first and second insulation layers, and the region of conductive or semiconductor material.
 13. The image sensor of claim 12, further comprising: an antireflection layer on the passivation layer.
 14. The image sensor of claim 10, wherein the region of conductive or semiconductor material comprises polysilicon.
 15. The image sensor of claim 10, further comprising: a third insulation layer extending through the region of conductive or semiconductor material, the region of conductive or semiconductor material including first and second walls of the conductive or semiconductor material on opposite sides of the third insulating layer.
 16. The image sensor of claim 10, wherein the first and second insulation layers are ring-shaped insulation walls which laterally surround a portion of the semiconductor layer.
 17. The image sensor of claim 10, further comprising: an interconnection layer on the first surface of the semiconductor layer and on the first and second insulation layers, the first and second insulation layers being electrically coupled to respective terminals of the interconnection layer.
 18. A method, comprising: forming a capacitive insulation wall in a semiconductor layer having opposite first and second surfaces, the forming the capacitive insulation wall including: forming a first insulation wall extending between the first and second surfaces of the semiconductor layer; forming a second insulation wall extending between the first and second surfaces of the semiconductor layer, the second insulation wall spaced laterally apart from the first insulation wall; and forming a conductive or semiconductor region between the first and second insulation walls; and selectively removing portions of the semiconductor layer and the conductive or semiconductor region by etching the semiconductor layer and the conductive or semiconductor region from the second surface of the semiconductor layer, while retaining adjacent portions of the first and second insulation walls.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: forming an oxide layer on the second surface of the semiconductor layer and on the conductive or semiconductor region.
 20. The method of claim 18, further comprising: forming a third insulating wall extending through the region of conductive or semiconductor material, the region of conductive or semiconductor material including first and second walls of the conductive or semiconductor material on opposite sides of the third insulating wall. 